 "Women's T20 World Cup 2024: What India need to do after yet another ICC campaign ends in disappointment")
The drama surrounding India’s qualification for the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup came to an end on Monday evening. India had arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) brimming with the hope – that of finally ending their global title drought that had spanned decades.
India were also competing in a major event for the first time since the introduction of the Women’s Premier League, and expectations were that of the cash-rich league having a similar effect on women’s cricket in India as the Indian Premier League (IPL) did for the men. Instead, they will be boarding the flight back home earlier than they did in each of the last three editions.
India’s hopes were left hanging by a thread after they suffered yet another defeat at the hands of reigning T20I and ODI world champions Australia. Despite a brave half-century from skipper Harmanpreet Kaur that had become something of a lone battle towards the end, India lost by a mere nine runs after being set 152 to win in Sharjah on Sunday.
Read | Australia's resilience trumps Harmanpreet's bravery in Sharjah
As a result of finishing the group stage with two wins and as many defeats, the Women in Blue needed a favour from arch-rivals Pakistan, who were up against New Zealand on Monday, for them to progress to the knockouts.
Pakistan briefly ignited Indian hopes of featuring in the T20 World Cup semi-finals for the fourth consecutive time, only to collapse like a house of cards and get bowled out for 56 after being set a modest 111 to win.
With one clinical performance, New Zealand eliminated not one but two teams from the race to the semis though in Pakistan’s case, they needed to pull off an improbable 53-run victory over the White Ferns for them to advance.
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Fittingly enough, it was New Zealand – the team that had thrashed India by 58 runs in their tournament opener in Dubai on 4 October – that landed the knockout punch on Harmanpreet and Co on Monday.
So what are some of the lessons that India take from their campaign that began and concluded with contrasting defeats, separated by equally contrasting victories against Pakistan and Sri Lanka?
Need to develop game awareness and a winner’s mindset
India needed 14 to win off six deliveries against Australia, with a well-set Harmanpreet Kaur still at the crease, having already brought up her half-century at this point. With all-rounder Deepti Sharma, with whom she had shared a fourth-wicket partnership worth 63, back in the hut and Richa Ghosh following her back to the dugout shortly after, the onus was on Harmanpreet to farm the strike as much as possible.
Facing Annabel Sutherland in the final over of the match, Harmanpreet, instead, opted to set off for a single after driving the ball down the ground. And it wasn’t just the first ball; Harmanpreet would be on strike for the fourth delivery as well, and would once again contend herself with collecting a single instead of backing herself to face the last two deliveries.
It was this lack of game-awareness on the part of the skipper that ultimately resulted in India collecting just three runs and losing four wickets. Had Harmanpreet opted against the single and struck Sutherland for a boundary in the next delivery, it certainly would have made the final over a lot livelier and put the bowler under a lot more pressure, which could have induced mistakes from the 23-year-old.
It’s not just the captain though. Lack of situational awareness has been plaguing the Indian team for years now and is the primary reason why they remain trophy-less at a global level. A similar case could be made of the Indian top-order, especially openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma and their approach in the powerplay and how it puts the rest of the batting order under a lot more pressure.
Fielding and fitness remain a big worry
India’s poor fielding and fitness standards has contributed to as many heartbreaks for the Women in Blue as the lack of game awareness.
It was a flurry of dropped catches and misfields that had allowed the White Ferns to post 160/4 after they were reduced to 99/3 in the 15th over, after wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh had dropped a sitter to give senior batter Suzie Bates a reprieve in the fifth over.
Against Pakistan, Asha Sobhana dropped not one but two dollies, both off seamer Arundhati Reddy’s bowling, though India still managed to restrict Pakistan to 105 and would later chase the target down with seven wickets in hand.
On Sunday, captain Harmanpreet alone accounted for two dropped chances, one of which was a sitter. Keeper Ghosh too could have prevented the ball from running away from byes as frequently as it did. Australia, in comparison, made India earn their runs and barely gave the Indians room to breathe.
The match between India and Australia was fiercely fought and could have gone India’s way in the end. However, it was the unforced errors on the field that, together with the lack of game awareness, proved to be the difference.
And let’s not pin the blame on dropped chances alone; better fitness standards will not only lead to more less dropped catches and misfields, but will also improve India’s running between the wickets and their conversion of singles to doubles — a handy tool for maintaining pressure on the opposition when runs are hard to come by.
Time to act tough against non-performers
Last, but not the least, it’s time to introduce a culture in the Indian team wherein no one in can take their spot for granted.
Captain Harmanpreet and seamers Reddy and Renuka Singh were the only consistent performers for the Women in Blue in the ninth edition of the Women’s T20 World Cup. Harmanpreet currently finds herself at the second spot in the run-scorers’ list with 150 runs, registering a staggering average of 150 after being dismissed just once in four innings and finishing with a strike rate of 133.92. Reddy and Renuka occupy the seventh and eighth spots in the wicket-takers’ list with seven wickets each at an identical average of 12.85 and an impressive economy rates of 6 and 5.62 respectively.
Spinner Asha Sobhana too had impressed in her maiden ICC event as she finished with five wickets at an average of 13 and an economy of 5.41, featuring in three of India’s four group-stage games.
The same, however, cannot be said of the rest of the lineup, with opener Mandhana turning out to be the biggest disappointment of them all as she finished with just 75 runs – 50 of which were scored against Sri Lanka – at an average of 18.75 with her strike rate not even touching 100 in a format where it is one of the most defining parameters.
It wasn’t just Mandhana though – fellow top-order batters Verma (97 runs; Ave: 24.25; SR: 105.43) and Jemimah Rodrigues (68 runs; Ave: 17; SR: 111.47) left much to be desired. And Ghosh finished the tournament with less than 20 runs to her name (19 runs; Ave: 6.33; SR: 65.51), getting dismissed for a golden duck against Pakistan along the way.
While this certainly isn’t a call for a complete overhaul the way the Pakistan Cricket Board with the men’s team after their humiliating defeat against England in Multan, the BCCI and the team management certainly has the responsibility of letting the seniors know that they will have to prove their worth and set an example for the juniors if they are to keep their place in the team.
The WPL has been around for two seasons now, and Team India should have enough back-ups for each spot in the next season or two, if not already.
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